I longed to know you my entire childhood. There was always a piece of me I felt was missing. I wanted to know where I got my blue eyes, blonde hair, my love for thunderstorms and fishing from. I always tried to imagine what you looked like, sounded like and who you were as a person in general. At 18,  I began searching online when the opportunity finally allowed. Who would have known I would discover the family I never knew with a matter of clicks. What a beautiful warm welcome I was given by grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins but the most emotional moment was when we got to talk for the first time.. You told me that was the best day of your life... not once but countless times throughtout our lives together. I have to admit that for awhile when we were together, I felt a little awkward because you always stared at me and told me how beautiful I was. Every conversation whether in person or phone began with, "hello beautiful" or your other favorite thing to say was, "has anyone told you how beautiful you are today?" I even would tell you after awhile that you were biased and had to say that. Fast forward many years and you were finally given the opportunity to move to Louisiana and be apart of our lives for the first time. You showed all of us nothing but love. You adored your grandchildren and they adored you. Even though your sickness limited your quality of life significantly, you endured so much to just be with us any time you could. We love you and are so thankful we got to spend the last 4 years together, even through the tough times.. You were a fighter and never would give up, even when the pain and breaths were unbearable. Our last week together was definitely the toughest but I will hang on to the last thing you told me. You looked at me and smiled and said, "I love my baby girl". Through your suffering, you still wanted to make it about me and didn't want me to hurt. I know you truly loved us with everything in you. I will miss your kindness, your jokes, your giving spirit but most importantly your existence in my life, in general. I'm happy to know you are breathing easy now and laughing without a struggle.  Our hearts will carry your memories until we meet again. Love your baby girl ❤️